Search results for: community resistance

Authors: Yazmin Pineda Zapata

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Leading a complete school and culture transformation can be a daunting task for any administrator. This is especially true when change agents are advocating for inclusive reform in their schools. As leaders embark on this journey, they must ascertain that an inclusive environment is not a place, a classroom, or a resource setting; it is a place of acceptance nurtured by supportive and meaningful learning opportunities where all students can thrive. A qualitative approach, phenomenology, was used to investigate principals’ actions and behaviors that supported inclusive schooling for students with disabilities. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following research question: How do leaders develop and maintain inclusive education? Fourteen K-12 principals purposefully selected from various sources (e.g., School Wide Integrated Framework for Transformation (SWIFT), The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (MCIE), The Arc of Texas Inclusion Works organization, The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH), the CAL State Summer Institute in San Marcos, and the PEAK Parent Center and/or other recognitions were interviewed individually using a semi-structured protocol. Upon completion of data collection, all interviews were transcribed and marked using A priori coding to analyze the responses and establish a correlation among Villa and Thousand’s five organizational supports to achieve inclusive educational reform: Vision, Skills, Incentives, Resources, and Action Plan. The findings of this study reveal the insights of principals who met specific criteria and whose schools had been highlighted as exemplary inclusive schools. Results show that by implementing the five organizational supports, principals were able to develop and sustain successful inclusive environments where both teachers and students were motivated, made capable, and supported through the redefinition and restructuring of systems within the school. Various key details of the five variables for change depict essential components within these systems, which include quality professional development, coaching and modeling of co-teaching strategies, collaborative co-planning, teacher leadership, and continuous stakeholder (e.g., teachers, students, support staff, and parents) involvement. The administrators in this study proved the valuable benefits of inclusive education for students with disabilities and their typically developing peers. Together, along with their teaching and school community, school leaders became capable stakeholders that promoted the vision of inclusion, planned a structured approach, and took action to make it a reality.

Keywords: Inclusive education, leaders, principals, shared-decision making, shared leadership, special education, sustainable change

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: Ali Saeed Alghamdi, Basel Mazen Alsolami, Basel Saeed Alghamdi, Muhanad Saleh Alzahrani Alamri, Salman Anwar Thabet, Abdulhalim J. Kinsara

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Objectives: This study measures the knowledge of the cardiovascular disease among the general population in western regions of Saudi Arabia, and it aimed to increase the level of awareness about cardiovascular diseases among the general population by providing an awareness lecture that included information about the risk factors, major symptoms, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The lecture has been attached at the end of the questionnaire. Setting: This study was conducted through an online questionnaire that included our aim and main objectives that targeted the general population in the Western regions of Saudi Arabia (Makkah and Madinah regions). Participants: This study participants were 460 collected through an online questionnaire. Methods: All Saudi citizens and residents who live in the western region of Saudi Arabia aged 18 years and above will be invited to participate voluntarily. A pre-structured questionnaire was designed to collect data on age, gender, marital status, education level, occupation, lifestyle habits, and history of heart diseases, with cardiac symptoms and risk factors sections. Results: The majority of respondents were females (74.8%) and Saudis. The knowledge about cardiovascular disease risk factors was weak. Only (18.5%) scores an excellent response regarding risk factors awareness. Lack of exercise, stress, and obesity were the most known risk factors. Regarding cardiovascular disease symptoms, chest pain scores the highest symptom (87.6%) among other symptoms like dyspnea, syncope, and excessive sweating. Participants revealed a poor awareness regarding cardiovascular disease symptoms also (0.9%). However, preventable factors for cardiovascular diseases were more knowledgeable than others categories in this study (60% fall into excellent knowledge). Smoking cessation, normal cholesterol level, and normal blood pressure score the highest preventable methods (92.2%), (88.6%), and (78.7%) respectively. 83.7% of the participant have attended the awareness lecture, and 99 of the attendees reported that the lecture increased their knowledge about cardiovascular disease. Conclusion: This study discussed the level of community awareness of cardiovascular disease in terms of symptoms, risk factors, and protective factors. We found a huge lack of the participant's level of knowledge about the disease and how to prevent it. Moreover, we measure the prevalence of the comorbidities among our participants (diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia/ hypertriglyceridemia) and their extent of adherence to their medication. In conclusion, this study not only demonstrates awareness of cardiovascular disease risk factors, symptoms, management, and the association between each domain but also provides educational material. Further educational material and campaigns are required to increase awareness and knowledge about cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: awareness, cardiovascular diseases, education, prevention, risk factors

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Authors: Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Seyed Majid Hashemzadeh

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Solar energy is one of the remarkable renewable energy sources that have particular characteristics such as unlimited, no environmental pollution, and free access. Generally, solar energy can be used in thermal and photovoltaic (PV) types. The cost of installation of the PV system is very high. Additionally, due to dependence on environmental situations such as solar radiation and ambient temperature, electrical power generation of this system is unpredictable and without power electronics devices, there is no guarantee to maximum power delivery at the output of this system. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) should be used to achieve the maximum power of a PV string. MPPT is one of the essential parts of the PV system which without this section, it would be impossible to reach the maximum amount of the PV string power and high losses are caused in the PV system. One of the noticeable challenges in the problem of MPPT is the partial shading conditions (PSC). In PSC, the output photocurrent of the PV module under the shadow is less than the PV string current. The difference between the mentioned currents passes from the module's internal parallel resistance and creates a large negative voltage across shaded modules. This significant negative voltage damages the PV module under the shadow. This condition is called hot-spot phenomenon. An anti-paralleled diode is inserted across the PV module to prevent the happening of this phenomenon. This diode is known as the bypass diode. Due to the performance of the bypass diode under PSC, the P-V curve of the PV string has several peaks. One of the P-V curve peaks that makes the maximum available power is the global peak. Model-based Global MPPT (GMPPT) methods can estimate the optimal point with higher speed than other GMPPT approaches. Centralized, modular, and interleaved DC-DC converter topologies are the significant structures that can be used for GMPPT at a PV string. there are some problems in the centralized structure such as current mismatch losses at PV sting, loss of power of the shaded modules because of bypassing by bypass diodes under PSC, needing to series connection of many PV modules to reach the desired voltage level. In the modular structure, each PV module is connected to a DC-DC converter. In this structure, by increasing the amount of demanded power from the PV string, the number of DC-DC converters that are used at the PV system will increase. As a result, the cost of the modular structure is very high. We can implement the model-based GMPPT through the multi-input interleaved boost DC-DC converter to increase the power extraction from the PV string and reduce hot-spot and current mismatch error in a PV string under different environmental condition and variable load circumstances. The interleaved boost DC-DC converter has many privileges than other mentioned structures, such as high reliability and efficiency, better regulation of DC voltage at DC link, overcome the notable errors such as module's current mismatch and hot spot phenomenon, and power switches voltage stress reduction.

Keywords: solar energy, photovoltaic systems, interleaved boost converter, maximum power point tracking, model-based method, partial shading conditions

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Elodie Niemiec, Philippe Champagne, Jean-Francois Blach, Philippe Moreau, Anthony Thuault, Arnaud Tricoteaux

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Hygiene of equipment in contact with users is an important issue in the railroad industry. The numerous cleanings to eliminate bacteria and dirt cost a lot. Besides, mechanical solicitations on contact parts are observed daily. It should be interesting to elaborate on a self-cleaning and antibacterial coating with sufficient adhesion and good resistance against mechanical and chemical solicitations. Thus, a Hauts-de-France and Maubeuge Val-de-Sambre conurbation authority co-financed Ph.D. thesis has been set up since October 2017 based on anterior studies carried by the Laboratory of Ceramic Materials and Processing. To accomplish this task, a soft chemical route has been implemented to bring a lotus effect on metallic substrates. It involves nanometric liquid zinc oxide synthesis under 100°C. The originality here consists in a variation of surface texturing by modification of the synthesis time of the species in solution. This helps to adjust wettability. Nanostructured zinc oxide has been chosen because of the inherent photocatalytic effect, which can activate organic substance degradation. Two methods of heating have been compared: conventional and microwave assistance. Tested subtracts are made of stainless steel to conform to transport uses. Substrate preparation was the first step of this protocol: a meticulous cleaning of the samples is applied. The main goal of the elaboration protocol is to fix enough zinc-based seeds to make them grow during the next step as desired (nanorod shaped). To improve this adhesion, a silica gel has been formulated and optimized to ensure chemical bonding between substrate and zinc seeds. The last step consists of deposing a wide carbonated organosilane to improve the superhydrophobic property of the coating. The quasi-proportionality between the reaction time and the nanorod length will be demonstrated. Water Contact (superior to 150°) and Roll-off Angle at different steps of the process will be presented. The antibacterial effect has been proved with Escherichia Coli, Staphylococcus Aureus, and Bacillus Subtilis. The mortality rate is found to be four times superior to a non-treated substrate. Photocatalytic experiences were carried out from different dyed solutions in contact with treated samples under UV irradiation. Spectroscopic measurements allow to determinate times of degradation according to the zinc quantity available on the surface. The final coating obtained is, therefore, not a monolayer but rather a set of amorphous/crystalline/amorphous layers that have been characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry. We will show that the thickness of the nanostructured oxide layer depends essentially on the synthesis time set in the hydrothermal growth step. A green, easy-to-process and control coating with self-cleaning and antibacterial properties has been synthesized with a satisfying surface structuration.

Keywords: antibacterial, biomimetism, soft-chemistry, zinc oxide

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Authors: Nadine Raidl, Benjamin Kaufmann, Michael Hofstätter, Peter Supancic

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If polycrystalline ZnO is properly doped and sintered under very specific conditions, it shows unique electrical properties, which are indispensable for today’s electronic industries, where it is used as the number one overvoltage protection material. Under a critical voltage, the polycrystalline bulk exhibits high electrical resistance but becomes suddenly up to twelve magnitudes more conductive if this voltage limit is exceeded (i.e., varistor effect). It is known that these peerless properties have their origin in the grain boundaries of the material. Electric charge is accumulated in the boundaries, causing a depletion layer in their vicinity and forming potential barriers (so-called Double Schottky Barriers, or DSB) which are responsible for the highly non-linear conductivity. Since ZnO is a piezoelectric material, mechanical stresses induce polarisation charges that modify the DSB heights and as a result the global electrical characteristics (i.e., piezotronic effect). In this work, a finite element method was used to simulate emerging stresses on individual grains in the bulk. Besides, experimental efforts were made to testify a coherent model that could explain this influence. Electron back scattering diffraction was used to identify grain orientations. With the help of wet chemical etching, grain polarization was determined. Micro lock-in infrared thermography (MLIRT) was applied to detect current paths through the material, and a micro 4-point probes method system (M4PPS) was employed to investigate current-voltage characteristics between single grains. Bulk samples were tested under uniaxial pressure. It was found that the conductivity can increase by up to three orders of magnitude with increasing stress. Through in-situ MLIRT, it could be shown that this effect is caused by the activation of additional current paths in the material. Further, compressive tests were performed on miniaturized samples with grain paths containing solely one or two grain boundaries. The tests evinced both an increase of the conductivity, as observed for the bulk, as well as a decreased conductivity. This phenomenon has been predicted theoretically and can be explained by piezotronically induced surface charges that have an impact on the DSB at the grain boundaries. Depending on grain orientation and stress direction, DSB can be raised or lowered. Also, the experiments revealed that the conductivity within one single specimen can increase and decrease, depending on the current direction. This novel finding indicates the existence of asymmetric Double Schottky Barriers, which was furthermore proved by complementary methods. MLIRT studies showed that the intensity of heat generation within individual current paths is dependent on the direction of the stimulating current. M4PPS was used to study the relationship between the I-V characteristics of single grain boundaries and grain orientation and revealed asymmetric behavior for very specific orientation configurations. A new model for the Double Schottky Barrier, taking into account the natural asymmetry and explaining the experimental results, will be given.

Keywords: Asymmetric Double Schottky Barrier, piezotronic, varistor, zinc oxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 251

Authors: M. Roberts

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We Are Undefeatable - is a mass marketing behaviour change campaign that aims to support the least active people living with long term health conditions to be more active. This is an important issue to address because people with long term conditions are an historically underserved community for the sport and physical activity sector and the least active of those with long term conditions have the most to gain in health and wellbeing benefits. The campaign has generated a significant change in the way physical activity is communicated and people with long term conditions are represented in the media and marketing. The goal is to create a social norm around being active. The campaign is led by a unique partnership of organisations: the Richmond Group of Charities (made up of Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Asthma + Lung UK, Breast Cancer Now, British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, Diabetes UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Rethink Mental Illness, Royal Voluntary Service, Stroke Association, Versus Arthritis) along with Mind, MS Society, Parkinson’s UK and Sport England, with National Lottery Funding. It is underpinned by the COM-B model of behaviour change. It draws on the lived experience of people with multiple long term conditions to shape the look and feel of the campaign and all the resources available. People with long term conditions are the campaign messengers, central to the ethos of the campaign by telling their individual stories of overcoming barriers to be active with their health conditions. The central messaging is about finding a way to be active that works for the individual. We Are Undefeatable is evaluated through a multi-modal approach, including regular qualitative focus groups and a quantitative evaluation tracker undertaken three times a year. The campaign has highlighted the significant barriers to physical activity for people with long term conditions. This has changed the way our partnership talks about physical activity but has also had an impact on the wider sport and physical activity sector, prompting an increasing departure from traditional messaging and marketing approaches for this audience of people with long term conditions. The campaign has reached millions of people since its launch in 2019, through multiple marketing and partnership channels including primetime TV advertising and promotion through health professionals and in health settings. Its diverse storytellers make it relatable to its target audience and the achievable activities highlighted and inclusive messaging inspire our audience to take action as a result of seeing the campaign. The We Are Undefeatable campaign is a blueprint for physical activity campaigns; it not only addresses individual behaviour change but plays a role in addressing systemic barriers to physical activity by sharing the lived experience insight to shape policy and professional practice.

Keywords: behaviour change, long term conditions, partnership, relatable

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Wanvipa Thongborisute, Punyaphat Sirithanabadeekul, Pichit Suvanprakorn, Anan Jiraviroon

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Background: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatologic problems, and can have a significant psychological and physical effect on patients. Propionibacterium acnes' roles in acne vulgaris involve the activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) pathways. By activating these pathways, inflammatory events of acne lesions, comedogenesis and sebaceous lipogenesis can occur. Currently, there are several topical agents commonly use in treating acne vulgaris that are known to have an effect on TLRs, such as retinoic acid and adapalene, but these drugs still have some irritating effects. At present, there is an alarming increase in rate of bacterial resistance due to irrational used of antibiotics both orally and topically. For this reason, acne treatments should contain bioactive molecules targeting at the site of action for the most effective therapeutic effect with the least side effects. Sparganium stoloniferumis a Chinese aquatic herb containing a compound called Sparstolonin B (SsnB), which has been reported to selectively blocks Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated inflammatory signals. Therefore, this topical TLR2 and TLR4 antagonist, in a form of Sparganium stoloniferum-derived compound containing SsnB, should give a benefit in reducing inflammation of acne vulgaris lesions and providing an alternative treatments for patients with this condition. Materials and Methods: The objectives of this randomized double blinded split faced placebo controlled trial is to study the safety and efficacy of the Sparganium stoloniferum-derived compound. 32 volunteered patients with mild to moderate degree of acne vulgaris according to global acne grading system were included in the study. After being informed and consented the subjects were given 2 topical treatments for acne vulgaris, one being topical 2.40% Sparganium stoloniferum extraction (containing Sparstolonin B) and the other, placebo. The subjects were asked to apply each treatment to either half of the face daily morning and night by randomization for 8 weeks, and come in for a weekly follow up. For each visit, the patients went through a procedure of lesion counting, including comedones, papules, nodules, pustules, and cystic lesions. Results: During 8 weeks of experimentation, the result shows a reduction in total lesions number between the placebo and the treatment side show statistical significance starting at week 4, where the 95% confidence interval begin to no longer overlap, and shows a trend of continuing to be further apart. The decrease in the amount of total lesions between week 0 and week 8 of the placebo side shows no statistical significant at P value >0.05. While the decrease in the amount of total lesions of acne vulgaris of the treatment side comparing between week 0 and week 8 shows statistical significant at P value <0.001. Conclusion: The data demonstrates that 2.40% Sparganium stoloniferum extraction (containing Sparstolonin B) is more effective in treating acne vulgaris comparing to topical placebo in treating acne vulgaris, by showing significant reduction in the total numbers of acne lesions. Therefore, this topical Sparganium stoloniferum extraction could become a potential alternative treatment for acne vulgaris.

Keywords: acne vulgaris, sparganium stoloniferum, sparstolonin B, toll-like receptor 2, toll-like receptor 4

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: G. C. Phiri, E. A. Heil, A. A. Kalimbira, E. Muehlhoff, C. Masangano, B. M. Mtimuni, J. Herrmann, M. B. Krawinkel, I. Jordan

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Background and objectives: High prevalence of undernutrition in Malawi is caused by poor complementary foods. Lack of knowledge of age appropriate food within the household might affect utilization of available resources. FAO-Malawi implemented nutrition education (NE) sessions in 200 villages in Kasungu and Mzimba districts from December 2012 to April 2013 targeting 15 caregivers per village of children aged 6-18 months, grandmothers, spouses and community leaders. Two trained volunteers per village facilitated 10 NE sessions on breastfeeding, food safety and hygiene and complementary feeding using locally available resources. This study assessed the reported dietary diversification practices of infant and young child after nutrition education and the factors that influenced adoption of the practice. Methodology: Questionnaire-based interviews with caregivers were conducted in 16 randomly selected villages (n=108) before training-(t1) and seven months after training-(t2). Knowledge score (KS) was calculated on the indicators breastfeeding, hygiene and complementary feeding. Count regression was performed using SPSS 22. Eight focus group discussions (FGDs) were separately conducted among caregivers and grandmothers in 4 villages. Content analysis was used to analyze FGDs data. Results: Following NE, caregivers' KS significantly increased (p<0.001) between t1 and t2 for breastfeeding (7.7 vs. 9.8, max=18), hygiene (3.8 vs. 5.9, max=7) and complementary feeding (10.2 vs. 16.2, max=26). Caregivers indicated that they stopped preparation of plain-refined maize meal porridge after they gained knowledge on dietary diversification of complementary foods. They learnt mushing and pounding of ingredients for enriched porridge. Whole-maize meal or potatoes were often enriched with vegetables, legumes, small fish or eggs and cooking oil. Children liked the taste of enriched porridge. Amount of enriched porridge consumed at each sitting increase among previously fussy-eater children. Meal frequency increased by including fruits as snacks in child’s diet. Grandmothers observed preparation of enriched porridge among the mothers using locally available foods. Grandmothers liked the taste of enriched porridge and not the greenish color of the porridge. Both grandmothers and mothers reported that children were playing independently after consuming enriched porridge and were strong and healthy. These motivated adoption of the practice. Conclusion: Increased knowledge and skill of preparation and utilisation of locally available foods promoted children’s dietary diversification. Children liking the enriched porridge motivated adoption of dietary diversification.

Keywords: behaviour change, complementary feeding, dietary diversification, IYCN

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Authors: Anat Peleg, Hadar Dancig-Rosenberg

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This interdisciplinary study, to our knowledge the first in this field, is located on the intersection of victimology-law and society-and media literature, and it corresponds both with feminist writing and with cyber literature which explores the techno-social sphere. It depicts the multifaceted dimensions of shaming in the eyes of the survivors through the following research questions: What are the motivations of sexual-assault survivors to publicize the assailants' identity or to refrain from this practice? Is shaming on Facebook perceived by sexual–assault victims as a substitute for the CJS or as a new form of social activism? What positive and negative consequences do survivors experience as a result of shaming their assailants online? The study draws on in-depth semi-structured interviews which we have conducted between 2016-2018 with 20 sexual-assaults survivors who exposed themselves on Facebook. They were sexually attacked in various forms: six participants reported that they had been raped when they were minors; eight women reported that they had been raped as adults; three reported that they had been victims of an indecent act and three reported that they had been harassed either in their workplace or in the public sphere. Most of our interviewees (12) reported to the police and were involved in criminal procedures. More than half of the survivors (11) disclosed the identity of their attackers online. The vocabularies of motives that have emerged from the thematic analysis of the interviews with the survivors consist of both social and personal motivations for using the practice of shaming online. Some survivors maintain that the use of shaming derives from the decline in the public trust in the criminal justice system. It reflects demand for accountability and justice and serves also as a practice of warning other potential victims of the assailants. Other survivors assert that shaming people in a position of privilege is meant to fulfill the public right to know who these privileged men really are. However, these aforementioned moral and practical justifications of the practice of shaming are often mitigated by fear from the attackers' physical or legal actions in response to their allegations. Some interviewees who are feminist activists argue that the practice of shaming perpetuates the social ancient tendency to define women by labels linking them to the men who attacked them, instead of being defined by their own life complexities. The variety of motivations to adopt or resent the practice of shaming by sexual assault victims presented in our study appear to refute the prevailing intuitive stereotype that shaming is an irrational act of revenge, and denote its rationality. The role of social media as an arena for seeking informal justice raises questions about the new power relations created between victims, assailants, the community and the State, outside the formal criminal justice system. At the same time, the survivors' narratives also uncover the risks and pitfalls embedded within the online sphere for sexual assault survivors.

Keywords: criminal justice, gender, Facebook, sexual-assaults

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Authors: Geumchan Hwang

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Professional sport leagues in Europe and North America are shut down due to novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Football leagues in Europe (e.g., La Liga, English Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1) and big four professional sport leagues in North America (e.g., National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, and National Hockey League) are indefinitely suspended or delayed. COVID-19 outbreak has a growing negative impact on economics of sport leagues. For example, loss of revenue in Europe’s top five leagues due to the COVID-19 pandemic was estimated at € 4 billion and loss of revenue in the NBA was estimated at $650 million as of March 2020. In the unprecedented difficult situation, sport teams and leagues try to communicate with sport fans through diverse media platforms. In sport, however, very few studies have been done regarding how sport organizations effectively communicate with sport fans during pandemics, such as COVID-19 outbreak. Understanding sport organizations’ crisis communication is important to develop effective crisis management strategies for sport organizations. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to examine how sport organizations communicate with sport fans via online platforms in COVID-19 outbreak and how sport fans evaluate their communication strategies. 9 official sport league sites (i.e., five major football leagues in Europe and four major sport leagues in North America) and COVID-19 news articles published between January and June in 2020 will be analyzed in terms of coronavirus information, teams and players’ live update, fan interaction, fan support, and community engagement. In addition, comments posted on social media sites (i.e., Facebook and Twitter) of major sport leagues will be also analyzed to examine how sport fans perceive online messages provided by sport leagues as an effective communication strategy. To measure the effectiveness of crisis communication performance, five components (i.e., prompt, compassionate, honest, informative, and interactive) of crisis communication will be collected from leagues’ official websites information and social media posts. Upon completing data collection, content analysis method will be used to evaluate effectiveness of crisis communication among 9 professional sport leagues. The results of the study will provide athletic directors, administrators, and public relations managers in sport organizations with practical information regarding how athlete celebrities and sport organizations should interact with their fans in pandemic situations. In particular, this study will contribute to developing specific crisis management plan for sport organizations. For instance, football teams and leagues in Europe will be able to create standard manuals to minimize damages caused by disease outbreak, such as COVID-19 outbreak.

Keywords: COVID-19, communication, sport leagues, fans

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Authors: Sthanu Mahadev, Wen Chan, Melanie Lim

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Anisotropy dominated continuous-fiber composite materials have garnered attention in numerous mechanical and aerospace structural applications. Tailored mechanical properties in advanced composites can exhibit superiority in terms of stiffness-to-weight ratio, strength-to-weight ratio, low-density characteristics, coupled with significant improvements in fatigue resistance as opposed to metal structure counterparts. Extensive research has demonstrated their core potential as more than just mere lightweight substitutes to conventional materials. Prior work done by Mahadev and Chan focused on formulating a modified composite shell theory based prognosis methodology for investigating the structural response of thin-walled circular cylindrical shell type composite configurations under in-plane mechanical loads respectively. The prime motivation to develop this theory stemmed from its capability to generate simple yet accurate closed-form analytical results that can efficiently characterize circular composite shell construction. It showcased the development of a novel mathematical framework to analytically identify the location of the centroid for thin-walled, open cross-section, curved composite shells that were characterized by circumferential arc angle, thickness-to-mean radius ratio, and total laminate thickness. Ply stress variations for curved cylindrical shells were analytically examined under the application of centric tensile and bending loading. This work presents a cost-effective, small-platform experimental methodology by taking advantage of the full-field measurement capability of digital image correlation (DIC) for an accurate assessment of key mechanical parameters such as in-plane mechanical stresses and strains, centroid location etc. Mechanical property measurement of advanced composite materials can become challenging due to their anisotropy and complex failure mechanisms. Full-field displacement measurements are well suited for characterizing the mechanical properties of composite materials because of the complexity of their deformation. This work encompasses the fabrication of a set of curved cylindrical shell coupons, the design and development of a novel test-fixture design and an innovative experimental methodology that demonstrates the capability to very accurately predict the location of centroid in such curved composite cylindrical strips via employing a DIC based strain measurement technique. Error percentage difference between experimental centroid measurements and previously estimated analytical centroid results are observed to be in good agreement. The developed analytical modified-shell theory provides the capability to understand the fundamental behavior of thin-walled cylindrical shells and offers the potential to generate novel avenues to understand the physics of such structures at a laminate level.

Keywords: anisotropy, composites, curved cylindrical shells, digital image correlation

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Authors: Tassana Boontong, Vilaivan Thongcharoen, Orapan Thosingha, Suphamon Chansakul, Anorut Jenwitheesuk, Chanin Chakkrapopyodhin, Isara Phiwchai, Mattika Chaichan, Rungnapha Khiewchaum

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According to Thailand health policy, subdistrict health promoting hospitals (SHPHs) serve as forefront facilities for inclusive health care service. Those services include health promotion, disease prevention, primary medical care and rehabilitation. However, SHPHs residing in some distant area, such as SHPHs residing on the islands, would deliver different services relevant to health needs of the local people and the tourists. This research aimed to study health care delivery services at SHPHs on the islands in Thailand. Data were collected using questionnaires. The result revealed that in Thailand, there are 58 SHPHs on the islands. During data collection process, the researchers were not allowed to collect data in 5 SHPHs in the southern part due to Covid-19 pandemic. The report is based on 53 SHPHs on the islands. Numbers of health care personnel were 201, 72.14 % were female, with the ages ranged from 22 to 60 years (mean = 35.56 years). About 53% were community health personnel, while 26.08% were professional nurses. In regard to work experiences, the range of year varied from less than 1 year to 30 years, with the mean of 8.36 years. The majority of their responsibilities focused on providing primary medical care (86.34%), caring of people with chronic illnesses (85.30%) and providing medical care procedures for patients with chronic illnesses at home (84.36%). Nurses were main health care personnel in performing primary medical care. Due to difficulty transportation from the islands to the mainland, nurses had to provide prompt emergency medical care while the patients arrived with emergency and critical illnesses such as severe head trauma, stroke or coronary artery disease. Although some medical procedures were complex and not covered by nursing and midwifery license, they decided to protect patients from life- threatening conditions and make them stable before transportation. In SHPHs, the workload exceeded manpower, health care personnel had to work overtime almost every day. In the famous tourist islands, health care personnel had to carry 3-4 folds of their workload during the holidays because of the large crowds of foreign and Thai tourists. It is recommended that SHPHs on the islands should scale up the level of services to cover advanced medical care. Health care personnel, in particular, professional nurses, should be equipped with emergency and critical care skills. The expected outcomes of the services should emphasize on rescuing patients with emergency and life-threatening illnesses and providing comprehensive care for people living on or visiting the islands.

Keywords: distant area, islands, sub district health promoting hospital, heath care services, Thailand

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Authors: Peri Ozlem Yuksel-Sokmen, Irfan Cagtay

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Oral languages are destined to disappear rapidly in the absence of interventions aimed at encouraging their usage by young children. The seminal language preservation model proposed by Fishman (1991) stresses the importance of multiple generations using the endangered L1 while engaged in daily routines with younger children. Over the last two decades Fishman (2001) has used his intergenerational transmission model in documenting the revitalization of Basque languages, providing evidence that families are transmitting Euskara as a first language to their children with success. In our study, to motivate usage of Lazuri, we asked caregivers to speak the language while engaged with their toddlers (12 to 48 months) in semi-structured play, and included both parents (N=32) and grandparents (N=30) as play partners. This unnatural prompting to speak only in Lazuri was greeted with reluctance, as 90% of our families indicated that they had stopped using Lazuri with their children. Nevertheless, caregivers followed instructions and produced 67% of their utterances in Lazuri, with another 14% of utterances using a combination of Lazuri and Turkish (Codeswitch). Although children spoke mostly in Turkish (83% of utterances), frequencies of caregiver utterances in Lazuri or Codeswitch predicted the extent to which their children used the minority language in return. This trend suggests that home interventions aimed at encouraging dyads to communicate in a non-preferred, endangered language can effectively increase children’s usage of the language. Alternatively, this result suggests than any use of the minority language on the part of the children will promote its further usage by caregivers. For researchers examining links between play, culture, and child development, structured play has emerged as a critical methodology (e.g., Frost, Wortham, Reifel, 2007, Lilliard et al., 2012; Sutton-Smith, 1986; Gaskins & Miller, 2009), allowing investigation of cultural and individual variation in parenting styles, as well as the role of culture in constraining the affordances of toys. Toy props, as well as picture-books in native languages, can be used as tools in the transmission and preservation of endangered languages by allowing children to explore adult roles through enactment of social routines and conversational patterns modeled by caregivers. Through adult-guided play children not only acquire scripts for culturally significant activities, but also develop skills in expressing themselves in culturally relevant ways that may continue to develop over their lives through community engagement. Further pedagogical tools, such as language games and e-learning, will be discussed in this proposed oral talk.

Keywords: language intervention, pedagogical tools, endangered languages, Lazuri

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Authors: S. B. R. Slagmulder

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Monitoring inspiratory effort and dynamic lung stress in patients on pressure support ventilation in the ICU is important for protecting against self inflicted lung injury (P-SILI) and diaphragm dysfunction. Strategies to address the detrimental effects of respiratory drive and effort can lead to improved patient outcomes. Two non-invasive estimation methods, occlusion pressure (Pocc) and P0.1, have been proposed for achieving lung and diaphragm protective ventilation. However, their relationship and interpretation in neuro ICU patients is not well understood. P0.1 is the airway pressure measured during a 100-millisecond occlusion of the inspiratory port. It reflects the neural drive from the respiratory centers to the diaphragm and respiratory muscles, indicating the patient's respiratory drive during the initiation of each breath. Occlusion pressure, measured during a brief inspiratory pause against a closed airway, provides information about the inspiratory muscles' strength and the system's total resistance and compliance. Research Objective: Understanding the relationship between Pocc and P0.1 in brain-injured patients can provide insights into the interpretation of these values in pressure support ventilation. This knowledge can contribute to determining extubation readiness and optimizing ventilation strategies to improve patient outcomes. The central goal is to asses a study protocol for determining the relationship between Pocc and P0.1 in brain-injured patients on pressure support ventilation and their ability to predict successful extubation. Additionally, comparing these values between brain-damaged and non-brain-damaged patients may provide valuable insights. Key Areas of Inquiry: 1. How do Pocc and P0.1 values correlate within brain injury patients undergoing pressure support ventilation? 2. To what extent can Pocc and P0.1 values serve as predictive indicators for successful extubation in patients with brain injuries? 3. What differentiates the Pocc and P0.1 values between patients with brain injuries and those without? Methodology: P0.1 and occlusion pressures are standard measurements for pressure support ventilation patients, taken by attending doctors as per protocol. We utilize electronic patient records for existing data. Unpaired T-test will be conducted to compare P0.1 and Pocc values between both study groups. Associations between P0.1 and Pocc and other study variables, such as extubation, will be explored with simple regression and correlation analysis. Depending on how the data evolve, subgroup analysis will be performed for patients with and without extubation failure. Results: While it is anticipated that neuro patients may exhibit high respiratory drive, the linkage between such elevation, quantified by P0.1, and successful extubation remains unknown The analysis will focus on determining the ability of these values to predict successful extubation and their potential impact on ventilation strategies. Conclusion: Further research is pending to fully understand the potential of these indices and their impact on mechanical ventilation in different patient populations and clinical scenarios. Understanding these relationships can aid in determining extubation readiness and tailoring ventilation strategies to improve patient outcomes in this specific patient population. Additionally, it is vital to account for the influence of sedatives, neurological scores, and BMI on respiratory drive and occlusion pressures to ensure a comprehensive analysis.

Keywords: brain damage, diaphragm dysfunction, occlusion pressure, p0.1, respiratory drive

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Authors: Adekeye Joshua Temitope

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“Transgender” presents a complexion of ambiguity in the African context and it remains a contested topography in the discourse of sexual identity. The casts and stigmatisations towards transgender unveils vital facts and intricacies often ignored in the academic communities; the problems and oppressions of given sex/gender system, the constrain of monogamy and ignorance of fluidity of human sexuality thereby generating dual discords of “enforced heterosexual” and “unavoidable homosexual.” The African culture voids transgender movements and perceive same-sex sexual behavior as “taboo or bad habits” and this provide reasonable explanations for the failure of asserting for the sexual rights in GLBT movement in most discourse on sexuality in the African context. However, we could not deny the real existence of active flowing and fluidity of human sexuality even though its variants could be latent. The incessant consciousness of the existence of transgender practices in Africa either in form of bisexual desire or bisexual behavior with or without sexual identity, including people who identify themselves as bisexual opens up the vision for us to reconsider and reexamine what constitutes such ambiguity and controversy of transgender identity at present time. The notion of identity politics in gay, lesbian, and transgender community has its complexity and debates in its historical development. This paper analyses the representation of the historical trajectory of transgender practices by presenting the dynamic transition of how people cognize transgender practices under different historical conditions since the understanding of historical transition of bisexual practices would be very crucial and meaningful for gender/sexuality liberation movement at present time and in the future. The paper did a juxtaposition of the trajectories of bisexual practices between Anglo-American world and Africa, as it has certain similarities and differences within diverse historical complexities. The similar condition is the emergence of gay identity under the influence of capitalism but within different cultural context. Therefore, the political economy of each cultural context plays very important role in understanding the formation of sexual identities historically and its development and influence for the GLBT movement afterwards and in the future. By reexamining Kinsey’s categorization and applying Klein’s argument on individual’s sexual orientation this paper is poised to break the given and fixed connection among sexual behavior/sexual orientation/sexual identity, on the other hand to present the potential fluidity of human sexuality by reconsidering and reexamining the present given sex/gender system in our world. The paper concludes that it is obligatory for the essentialist and exclusionary trend at this historical moment since gay and lesbian communities in Africa need to clearly demonstrate and voice for themselves under the nuances of gender/sexuality liberation.

Keywords: heterosexual, homosexual, identity politics, queer politics, transgender

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Authors: Matthias Haenisch, Katharina Hermann, Marc Godau, Verena Weidner

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Over the past two decades, international music education has been characterized by a growing interest in informal learning for formal contexts and a "compositional turn" that has moved from closed to open forms of composing. This change occurs under social and technological conditions that permeate 21st-century musical practices. This forms the background of Musical Communities in the (Post)Digital Age (MusCoDA), a four-year joint research project of the University of Erfurt (UE) and the University of Education Karlsruhe (PHK), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Both explore songwriting processes as an example of collective creativity in (post)digital communities, one in formal and the other in informal learning contexts. Collective songwriting will be studied from a network perspective, that will allow us to view boundaries between both online and offline as well as formal and informal or hybrid contexts as permeable and to reconstruct musical learning practices. By comparing these songwriting processes, possibilities for a pedagogical-didactic interweaving of different educational worlds are highlighted. Therefore, the subproject of the University of Erfurt investigates school music lessons with the help of interviews, videography, and network maps by analyzing new digital pedagogical and didactic possibilities. In the first step, the international literature on songwriting in the music classroom was examined for design development. The analysis focused on the question of which methods and practices are circulating in the current literature. Results from this stage of the project form the basis for the first instructional design that will help teachers in planning regular music classes and subsequently reconstruct musical learning practices under these conditions. In analyzing the literature, we noticed certain structural methods and concepts that recur, such as the Building Blocks method and the pre-structuring of the songwriting process. From these findings, we developed a deck of cards that both captures the current state of research and serves as a method for design development. With this deck of cards, both teachers and students themselves can plan their individual songwriting lessons by independently selecting and arranging topic, structure, and action cards. In terms of science communication, music educators' interactions with the card game provide us with essential insights for developing the first design. The overall goal of MusCoDA is to develop an empirical model of collective musical creativity and learning and an instructional design for teaching music in the postdigital age.

Keywords: card game, collective songwriting, community of practice, network, postdigital

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Authors: Raed Fawzi Mohammed Ameen, Haider I. Alyasari, Maryam Altaweel

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Due to rapid urbanization, developing countries faced significant urban challenges that accompanied the population growth such as the inability to provide adequate housing; sustain human and community's health and wellbeing; ensure the safety in urban areas; the prevalence corruption; lack of jobs; and a shortage of investment. The destruction, degradation, and lack of planning are acute in countries such as Iraq that have suffered for more than four decades because of war and international sanctions, resulting in severe damages to the ecology sector, social utilities, housing, infrastructure, as well as the disruption of the economic sector. Many of significant urban development, housing, and regeneration projects are currently underway in different regions in Iraq, labelled as a means to reform the environmental, social, and economic sectors. However, most often with absence of public participation. Hence, there is an urgent need for understanding public perception, especially of urban socio-economic challenges, which represents a crucial concern for many planners, designers, and policy-makers in order to develop effective policies in addition to increasing their participation. The aim of this study is to investigate stakeholder perceptions of the socio-economic challenges of urban development and their priorities in the all Iraqi provinces. A nationwide questionnaire has been conducted (N = 643) across Iraq, using 19- item structured questionnaire where the stakeholder’s perspectives were collected on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The indicators were identified through deep investigation in previous studies. Principal component analysis (PCA) and statistical tests were utilized to the collected responses in order to investigate the linkage between the perceptions of socio- economic challenges and demographic factors. A high value of internal consistency and reliability of the instrument has been achieved (Cronbach’s alpha= 0.867). Five principal components have been identified, namely: economic, cultural aspects, design context, employment, security and housing demands. The item ‘safety of public places' was ranked as the most important, followed by the items 'minimize unplanned housing', and ‘provision of affordable housing’, respectively. Promote high-rise housing from the housing demands group, was ranked the lowest component between all indicators. 'Using sustainable local materials in construction' item had the second lowest mean score. The results also illustrate a link between deficiencies in the social and economic infrastructure because of the destruction and degradation caused by political instability in Iraq in the last few decades.

Keywords: public participation in development, socio-economic challenges, urban development, urban sustainability

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Authors: Shahid Razzaq

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The governments around the globe have started taking into considerations the knowledge management dynamics while formulating, implementing, and evaluating the strategies, with or without the conscious realization, for the different public sector organizations and public policy developments. Health Department of Punjab province in Pakistan is striving to deliver quality healthcare services to the community through an efficient and effective service delivery system. Despite of this struggle some employee performance issues yet exists in the form of challenge to government. To overcome these issues department took several steps including HR strategies, use of technologies and focus of hard issues. Consequently, this study was attempted to highlight the importance of soft issue that is knowledge management in its true essence to tackle their performance issues. Knowledge management in public sector is quite an ignored area in the knowledge management-a growing multidisciplinary research discipline. Knowledge-based view of the firm theory asserts the knowledge is the most deliberate resource that can result in competitive advantage for an organization over the other competing organizations. In the context of our study it means for gaining employee performance, organizations have to increase the heterogeneous knowledge bases. The study uses the cross-sectional and quantitative research design. The data is collected from the knowledge workers of Health Department of Punjab, the biggest province of Pakistan. A total of 341 sample size is achieved. The SmartPLS 3 Version 2.6 is used for analyzing the data. The data examination revealed that knowledge management processes has a strong impact on knowledge worker performance. All hypotheses are accepted according to the results. Therefore, it can be summed up that to increase the employee performance knowledge management activities should be implemented. Health Department within province of Punjab introduces the knowledge management infrastructure and systems to make effective availability of knowledge for the service staff. This knowledge management infrastructure resulted in an increase in the knowledge management process in different remote hospitals, basic health units and care centers which resulted in greater service provisions to public. This study is to have theoretical and practical significances. In terms of theoretical contribution, this study is to establish the relationship between knowledge management and performance for the first time. In case of the practical contribution, this study is to give an insight to public sector organizations and government about role of knowledge management in employ performance. Therefore, public policymakers are strongly advised to implement the activities of knowledge management for enhancing the performance of knowledge workers. The current research validated the substantial role of knowledge management in persuading and creating employee arrogances and behavioral objectives. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study contribute to the impact of knowledge management on employee performance as its originality.

Keywords: employee performance, knowledge management, public sector, soft issues

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Authors: Tsedekech Gebremeskel Weldmichael, Tamas Szegi, Lubangakene Denish, Ravi Kumar Gangwar, Erika Micheli, Barbara Simon

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Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, soil biodiversity has been recognized globally as a crucial player in guaranteeing the functioning of soil and a provider of several ecosystem services essential for human well-being. The microbial fraction of the soil is a vital component of soil fertility as soil microbes play key roles in soil aggregate formation, nutrient cycling, humification, and degradation of pollutants. Soil fauna, such as earthworms, have huge impacts on soil organic matter dynamics, nutrient cycling, and infiltration and distribution of water in the soil. Currently, land-use change has been a global concern as evidence accumulates that it adversely affects soil biodiversity and the associated ecosystem goods and services. In this study, we examined the patterns of soil microbial respiration (SMR) and earthworm (abundance, biomass, and species richness) across three land-use types (grassland, arable land, and forest) in Hungary. The objectives were i) to investigate whether there is a significant difference in SMR and earthworm (abundance, biomass, and species richness) among land-use types. ii) to determine the key soil properties that best predict the variation in SMR and earthworm communities. Soil samples, to a depth of 25 cm, were collected from the surrounding areas of seven soil profiles. For physicochemical parameters, soil organic matter (SOM), pH, CaCO₃, E₄/E₆, available nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N), potassium (K₂O), phosphorus (P₂O₅), exchangeable Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, soil moisture content (MC) and bulk density were measured. The analysis of SMR was determined by basal respiration method, and the extraction of earthworms was carried out by hand sorting method as described by ISO guideline. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference among land-use types in SMR (p > 0.05). However, the highest SMR was observed in grassland soils (11.77 mgCO₂ 50g⁻¹ soil 10 days⁻¹) and lowest in forest soils (8.61 mgCO₂ 50g⁻¹ soil 10 days⁻¹). SMR had strong positive correlations with exchangeable Ca²⁺ (r = 0.80), MC (r = 0.72), and exchangeable Mg²⁺(r = 0.69). We found a pronounced variation in SMR among soil texture classes (p < 0.001), where the highest value in silty clay loam soils and the lowest in sandy soils. This study provides evidence that agricultural activities can negatively influence earthworm communities, in which the arable land had significantly lower earthworm communities compared to forest and grassland respectively. Overall, in our study, land use type had minimal effects on SMR whereas, earthworm communities were profoundly influenced by land-use type particularly agricultural activities related to tillage. Exchangeable Ca²⁺, MC, and texture were found to be the key drivers of the variation in SMR.

Keywords: earthworm community, land use, soil biodiversity, soil microbial respiration, soil property

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Authors: Mary Jane Suarez

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A massive educational overhaul has taken place at the onset of the 21st century addressing the mismatches of employability skills with that of scholastic skills taught in schools. For a community to thrive in an ever-developing economy, the teaching of the necessary skills for job competencies should be realized by every educational institution. However, in harnessing 21st-century skills amongst learners, teachers, who often lack familiarity and thorough insights into the emerging 21st-century skills, are chained with the restraint of the need to comprehend the physiognomies of 21st-century skills learning and the requisite to implement the tenets of 21st-century skills teaching. With the endeavor to espouse 21st-century skills learning and teaching, a United States-based national coalition called Partnership 21st Century Skills (P21) has identified the four most important skills in 21st-century learning: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation with an established framework for 21st-century skills standards. Assessment of skills is the lifeblood of every teaching and learning encounter. It is correspondingly crucial to look at the 21st century standards and the assessment guides recognized by P21 to ensure that learners are 21st century ready. This mixed-method study sought to discover and describe what classroom assessments were used by English teachers in a public secondary school in the Philippines with course offerings on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The research evaluated the assessment tools implemented by English teachers and how these assessment tools were congruent to the 21st assessment standards of P21. A convergent parallel design was used to analyze assessment tools and practices in four phases. In the data-gathering phase, survey questionnaires, document reviews, interviews, and classroom observations were used to gather quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously, and how assessment tools and practices were consistent with the P21 framework with the four Cs as its foci. In the analysis phase, the data were treated using mean, frequency, and percentage. In the merging and interpretation phases, a side-by-side comparison was used to identify convergent and divergent aspects of the results. In conclusion, the results yielded assessments tools and practices that were inconsistent, if not at all, used by teachers. Findings showed that there were inconsistencies in implementing authentic assessments, there was a scarcity of using a rubric to critically assess 21st skills in both language and literature subjects, there were incongruencies in using portfolio and self-reflective assessments, there was an exclusion of intercultural aspects in assessing the four Cs and the lack of integrating collaboration in formative and summative assessments. As a recommendation, a harmonized assessment scheme of P21 skills was fashioned for teachers to plan, implement, and monitor classroom assessments of 21st-century skills, ensuring the alignment of such assessments to P21 standards for the furtherance of the institution’s thrust to effectively integrate 21st-century skills assessment standards to its curricula.

Keywords: 21st-century skills, 21st-century skills assessments, assessment standards, congruency, four Cs

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Authors: Jonathan Munyoro, Takawira Machimbidza, Stephen Mutula

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The study investigates the current status of Intellectual Property (IP) information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries. Specifically, the study assesses the current IP information services offered in Zimbabwe’s university libraries, identifies challenges to the development of comprehensive IP information services in Zimbabwe’s university libraries, and suggests solutions for the development of IP information services in Zimbabwe’s university libraries. The study is born out of a realisation that research on IP information services in university libraries has received little attention, especially in developing country contexts, despite the fact that there are calls for heightened participation of university libraries in IP information services. In Zimbabwe, the launch of the National Intellectual Property Policy and Implementation Strategy 2018-2022 and the introduction of the Education 5.0 concept are set to significantly change the IP landscape in the country. Education 5.0 places more emphasis on innovation and industrialisation (in addition to teaching, community service, and research), and has the potential to shift the focus and level of IP output produced in higher and tertiary education institutions beyond copyrights and more towards commercially exploited patents, utility models, and industrial designs. The growing importance of IP commercialisation in universities creates a need for appropriate IP information services to assist students, academics, researchers, administrators, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and inventors. The critical challenge for university libraries is to reposition themselves and remain relevant in the new trajectory. Designing specialised information services to support increased IP generation and commercialisation appears to be an opportunity for university libraries to stay relevant in the knowledge economy. However, IP information services in Zimbabwe’s universities appear to be incomplete and focused mostly on assisting with research publications and copyright-related activities. Research on the existing status of IP services in university libraries in Zimbabwe is therefore necessary to help identify gaps and provide solutions in order to stimulate the growth of new forms of such services. The study employed a quantitative approach. An online questionnaire was administered to 57 academic librarians from 15 university libraries. Findings show that the current focus of the surveyed institutions is on providing scientific research support services (15); disseminating/sharing university research output (14); and copyright activities (12). More specialised IP information services such as IP education and training, patent information services, IP consulting services, IP online service platforms, and web-based IP information services are largely unavailable in Zimbabwean university libraries. Results reveal that the underlying challenge in the development of IP information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries is insufficient IP knowledge among academic librarians, which is exacerbated by inadequate IP management frameworks in university institutions. The study proposes a framework for the entrenchment of IP information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries.

Keywords: academic libraries, information services, intellectual property, IP knowledge, university libraries, Zimbabwe

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Authors: Paulette Henry

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If Caribbean Universities wish to remain sustainable in the global education market they must meet the new demands of the 21st Centuries learners. This means preparing the teaching and learning environment with the human and material and resources so that the University can blossom out into the entrepreneurial University. The entrepreneurial University prepares the learner to become a global citizen, one who is innovative and a critical thinker and has the competencies to create jobs. Entrepreneurship education provides more equitable access to university education building capacity for the local and global economy. The entrepreneurial thinking, the mindset, must therefore be among academic and support staff as well as students. In developing countries where resources are scarce, Universities are grappling with a myriad of financial and non-financial issues. These include increasing costs, Union demands for increased remuneration for staff and reduced subvention from governments which has become the norm. In addition, there is the political pressure against increasing tuition fees and the perceptions on the moral responsibilities of universities in national development. The question is how do small universities carve out their niche, meet both political and consumer demands for a high quality, low lost education, fulfil their development mandate and still remain not only viable but competitive. Themes which are central to this discourse on the transitions necessary for the entrepreneurial university are leadership, governance and staff well-being. This paper therefore presents a case study of a Caribbean University to show how transformational leadership and the change management framework propels change towards an entrepreneurial institution seeking to have a competitive advantage despite its low resourced context. Important to this discourse are the transformational approaches used by the University to prepare staff to move from their traditional psyche to embracing an entrepreneurial mindset whilst equipping students within the same mode to become work ready and creative global citizens. Using the mixed methods approach, opinions were garnered from both members of the University community as well as external stakeholder groups on their perception of the role of the University in the business arena and as a primary stakeholder in national development. One of the critical concepts emanating from the discourse was the need to change the mindset of the those in university governance as well as how national stakeholders engage the university. This paper shows how multiple non-financial factors can contribute to change. A combination of transformational and servant leadership, strengthened institutional structures and developing new ones, rebuilding institutional trust and pride have been among the strategies employed within the change management framework. The university is no longer limited by borders but through international linkages has transcended into a transnational stakeholder.

Keywords: competitiveness, context, entrepreneurial, leadership

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Authors: Emma J. Dale, Christina D. Buesching, Kevin R. Theis, David W. Macdonald

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This study investigates the oral and intestinal microbiomes of wild-living European badgers (Meles meles) and will relate inter-individual differences to social contact networks, somatic and reproductive fitness, varying susceptibility to bovine tuberculous (bTB) and to the olfactory advertisement. Badgers are an interesting model for this research, as they have great variation in body condition, despite living in complex social networks and having access to the same resources. This variation in somatic fitness, in turn, affects breeding success, particularly in females. We postulate that microbiota have a central role to play in determining the successfulness of an individual. Our preliminary results, characterising the microbiota of individual badgers, indicate unique compositions of microbiota communities within social groups of badgers. This basal information will inform further questions related to the extent microbiota influence fitness. Hitherto, the potential role of microbiota has not been considered in determining host condition, but also other key fitness variables, namely; communication and resistance to disease. Badgers deposit their faeces in communal latrines, which play an important role in olfactory communication. Odour profiles of anal and subcaudal gland secretions are highly individual-specific and encode information about group-membership and fitness-relevant parameters, and their chemical composition is strongly dependent on symbiotic microbiota. As badgers sniff/ lick (using their Vomeronasal organ) and over-mark faecal deposits of conspecifics, these microbial communities can be expected to vary with social contact networks. However, this is particularly important in the context of bTB, where badgers are assumed to transmit bTB to cattle as well as conspecifics. Interestingly, we have found that some individuals are more susceptible to bTB than are others. As acquired immunity and thus potential susceptibility to infectious diseases are known to depend also on symbiotic microbiota in other members of the mustelids, a role of particularly oral microbiota can currently not be ruled out as a potential explanation for inter-individual differences in infection susceptibility of bTB in badgers. Tri annually badgers are caught in the context of a long-term population study that began in 1987. As all badgers receive an individual tattoo upon first capture, age, natal as well as previous and current social group-membership and other life history parameters are known for all animals. Swabs (subcaudal ‘scent gland’, anal, genital, nose, mouth and ear) and fecal samples will be taken from all individuals, stored at -80oC until processing. Microbial samples will be processed and identified at Wayne State University’s Theis (Host-Microbe Interactions) Lab, using High Throughput Sequencing (16S rRNA-encoding gene amplification and sequencing). Acknowledgments: Gas-Chromatography/ Mass-spectrometry (in the context of olfactory communication) analyses will be performed through an established collaboration with Dr. Veronica Tinnesand at Telemark University, Norway.

Keywords: communication, energetics, fitness, free-ranging animals, immunology

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Authors: Muhammad Shahzad Hussain

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Two major problems are facing generally by conventional poultry farming that is disease outbreaks and poor performance, which results due to improper management. To enhance the growth performance and efficiency of feed and reduce disease outbreaks, antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) which are antibiotics at sub-therapeutic levels, are extensively used in the poultry industry. European Union has banned the use of antibiotics due to their presence in poultry products, development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and disturbance of normal gut microbial ecology. These residues cause serious health concerns and produce antibiotic resistance in pathogenic microbes in human beings. These issues strengthen the need for the withdrawal of AGPs from poultry feed. Nowadays, global warming is a major issue, and it is more critical in tropical areas like Pakistan, where heat stress is already a major problem. Heat stress leads to poor production performance, high mortality, immuno-suppression, and concomitant diseases outbreak. The poultry feed industry in Pakistan, like other countries of the world, has been facing shortages and high prices of local as well as imported feed ingredients. Prebiotics are potential replacer for AGP as prebiotics has properties to enhance the production potential and reduce the growth of harmful bacteria as well as stimulate the growth/activity of beneficial bacteria. The most commonly used prebiotics in poultry includes mannan oligosaccharide (MOS). MOS is an essential component of the yeast cell wall (YCW) (Saccharomyces cerevisiae); therefore, the YCW wall possesses prebiotic properties. The use of distillery yeast wall (YCW) has the potential to replace conventional AGPs and to reduce mortality due to heat stress as well as to bind toxins in the feed. The dietary addition of YCW has not only positive effects on production performance in poultry during normal conditions but during stressful conditions. A total of 168-day-old broilers were divided into 6 groups, each of which has 28 birds with 4 replicates (n=7).Yeast cell wall (YCW) supplementation @ 0%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3% from day 0 to 35. Heat stress was exposed from day 21 to 35 at 30±1.1ᵒC with relative humidity 65±5%. Zootechnical parameters like body weight, FCR, Organ development, and histomorphometric parameters were studied. A significant weight gain was observed at group C supplemented @ 1.5% YCW during the fifth week. Significant organ weight gain of Gizzard, spleen, small intestine, and cecum was observed at group C supplemented @ 1.5% YCW. According to morphometric indices Duodenum, Jejunum, and Ileum has significant villus height, while Jejunum and Ileum have also significant villus surface area in the group supplemented with 1.5% YCW. IEL count was only decreased in 1.5% YCW-fed group in jejunum and ileum, not in duodenum, that was less in 2% YCW-supplemented group. Dietary yeast cell wall of saccharomyces cerevisiae partially reduced the effects of high ambient temperature in terms of better growth and modified gut histology and components of mucosal immune response to better withstand heat stress in broilers.

Keywords: antibiotics, AGPs, broilers, MOS, prebiotics, YCW

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Authors: Beverly Black

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Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health problem with severe negative impact on youths’ mental and physical health and well-being. Exacerbating the negative impact of TDV victimization is the fact that teens rarely report the violence. They are fearful to tell friends or family, especially parents. The family context is the first place where children learn about interpersonal relationships, and therefore, parental response of teens’ life experiences influences teens’ actions and development. This study examined youths’ perspectives on parental responses to TDV. Effective parental responses to TDV may increase the likelihood that youth will leave abusive relationships. Method. Eleven gender-separate focus groups were conducted with 27 females and 28 males, ages 12 to 17, to discuss parental responses to teen dating violence. Youth were recruited from a metropolitan community in the southwestern part of the United States. Focus groups questions asked the middle and high school youth how they would want their parents to respond to them if they approached them about various incidents of dating violence. All focus groups were transcribed. Using QSR-N10, two researchers’ analyzed data first using open and axial coding techniques to find overarching themes. Researchers triangulated the coded data to ensure accurate interpretations of the participants’ messages and used the scenario questions to structure the coded results. Results. Most youths suggested that parents should simply talk with them; they recognized the importance of communication. Teens wanted parents to ask questions, educate them about healthy relationships, share their personal experiences, and give teens advice (tell them to break up, limit contact with perpetrator, go to police). Younger youth expressed more willingness to listen to parental advice. Older youth wanted their parents to give them the opportunity to make their decisions. Many of the teens’ comments focused on the importance of parents protecting the teen, providing support and empathy for the teen, and especially refraining from overreacting (not yelling, not getting angry and staying calm). Implications. Parents need to know how to effectively respond to youth needing to leave unhealthy relationships. Demanding that their children end a relationship may not be a realistic approach to TDV. A parent’s ineffective response, when approached by an adolescent for assistance in TDV, may influence a youth to dismiss parents and other adults as viable options for seeking assistance. Parents and prevention educators can learn from hearing youths’ voices about effective responses to TDV.

Keywords: adolescents dating abuse, adolescent and parent communication, parental responses to teen dating violence, teen dating violence

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Authors: Aysen Celen Ozturk, Hatice Dulger

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University may be defined as a teaching institution consisting of faculties, institutes, colleges, and units that have undergraduate and graduate education, scientific research and publications. It has scientific autonomy and public legal personality. Today, universities are not only the institutions in which students and lecturers experience education, training and scientific work. They also offer social, cultural and artistic activities that strengthen the link with the city. This also incorporates all city users into the campus borders. Thus, universities contribute to social and individual development of the country by providing science, art, socio-cultural development, communication and socialization with people of different cultural and social backgrounds. Moreover, universities provide an active social life, where the young population is the majority. This enables the sense of belonging to the users to develop, to increase the interaction between academicians and students, and to increase the learning / producing community by continuing academic sharing environments outside the classrooms. For this reason, besides academic spaces in university campuses, the users also need closed and open spaces where they can socialize, spend time together and relax. Public open spaces are the most important social spaces that individuals meet, express themselves and share. Individuals belonging to different socio-cultural structures and ethnic groups maintain their social experiences with the physical environment they are in, the outdoors, and their actions and sharing in these spaces. While university campuses are being designed for their individual and social development roles, user needs must be determined correctly and design should be realized in this direction. While considering that requirements may change over time, user satisfaction should be questioned at certain periods and new arrangements should be made in existing applications in the direction of current demands. This study aims to determine the user requirements through the case of Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Meşelik Campus / Turkey. Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) questionnaire, cognitive mapping and deep interview methods are used in the research process. All these methods show that the students, academicians and other officials in the Meşelik Campus of Eskişehir Osmangazi University find way finding elements insufficient and are in need of efficient landscape design and social spaces. This study is important in terms of determining the needs of the users as a design input. This will help improving the quality of common space in Eskişehir Osmangazi University and in other similar universities.

Keywords: university campuses, public open space, user requirement, post occupancy evaluation

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Authors: Niklas Ravn-Boess, Nainita Bhowmick, Takamitsu Hattori, Shohei Koide, Christopher Park, Dimitris Placantonakis

Abstract:

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and deadly primary brain malignancy in adults. Tumor propagation, brain invasion, and resistance to therapy critically depend on GBM stem-like cells (GSCs); however, the mechanisms that regulate GSC self-renewal are incompletely understood. Given the aggressiveness and poor prognosis of GBM, it is imperative to find biomarkers that could also translate into novel drug targets. Along these lines, we have identified a cell surface antigen, CD97 (ADGRE5), an adhesion G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), that is expressed on GBM cells but is absent from non-neoplastic brain tissue. CD97 has been shown to promote invasiveness, angiogenesis, and migration in several human cancers, but its frequency of expression and functional role in regulating GBM growth and survival, and its potential as a therapeutic target has not been investigated. Design: We assessed CD97 mRNA and protein expression in patient derived GBM samples and cell lines using publicly available RNA-sequencing datasets and flow cytometry, respectively. To assess CD97 function, we generated shRNA lentiviral constructs that target a sequence in the CD97 extracellular domain (ECD). A scrambled shRNA (scr) with no predicted targets in the genome was used as a control. We evaluated CD97 shRNA lentivirally transduced GBM cells for Ki67, Annexin V, and DAPI. We also tested CD97 KD cells for their ability to self-renew using clonogenic tumorsphere formation assays. Further, we utilized synthetic Abs (sAbs) generated against the ECD of CD97 to test for potential antitumor effects using patient-derived GBM cell lines. Results: CD97 mRNA expression was expressed at high levels in all GBM samples available in the TCGA cohort. We found high levels of surface CD97 protein expression in 6/6 patient-derived GBM cell cultures, but not human neural stem cells. Flow cytometry confirmed downregulation of CD97 in CD97 shRNA lentivirally transduced cells. CD97 KD induced a significant reduction in cell growth in 3 independent GBM cell lines representing mesenchymal and proneural subtypes, which was accompanied by reduced (~20%) Ki67 staining and increased (~30%) apoptosis. Incubation of GBM cells with sAbs (20 ug/ ml) against the ECD of CD97 for 3 days induced GSC differentiation, as determined by the expression of GFAP and Tubulin. Using three unique GBM patient derived cultures, we found that CD97 KD attenuated the ability of GBM cells to initiate sphere formation by over 300 fold, consistent with an impairment in GSC self-renewal. Conclusion: Loss of CD97 expression in patient-derived GBM cells markedly decreases proliferation, induces cell death, and reduces tumorsphere formation. sAbs against the ECD of CD97 reduce tumorsphere formation, recapitulating the phenotype of CD97 KD, suggesting that sAbs that inhibit CD97 function exhibit anti-tumor activity. Collectively, these findings indicate that CD97 is necessary for the proliferation and survival of human GBM cells and identify CD97 as a promising therapeutically targetable vulnerability in GBM.

Keywords: adhesion GPCR, CD97, GBM stem cell, glioblastoma

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Authors: Lola T. Alimkhodjaeva, Lola T. Zakirova, Soniya S. Ziyavidenova

Abstract:

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is still one of the urgent oncology problems. The essential obstacle to the full anti-tumor therapy implementation is drug resistance development. Taking into account the fact that chemotherapy is main antitumor treatment in BC patients, the important task is to improve treatment results. Certain success in overcoming this situation has been associated with the use of methods of extracorporeal blood treatment (ECBT), plasmapheresis. Materials and Methods: We examined 129 women with resistant BC stages 3-4, aged between 56 to 62 years who had previously received 2 courses of CAF chemotherapy. All patients additionally underwent 2 courses of CAF chemotherapy but against the background ECBT with ultrasonic exposure. We studied the following parameters: 1. The highlights of peripheral blood before and after therapy. 2. The state of cellular immunity and identification of activation markers CD23 +, CD25 +, CD38 +, CD95 + on lymphocytes was performed using monoclonal antibodies. Evaluation of humoral immunity was determined by the level of main classes of immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, IgM in serum. 3. The degree of tumor regression was assessed by WHO recommended 4 gradations. (complete - 100%, partial - more than 50% of initial size, process stabilization–regression is less than 50% of initial size and tumor advance progressing). 4. Medical pathomorphism in the tumor was determined by Lavnikova. 5. The study of immediate and remote results, up to 3 years and more. Results and Discussion: After performing extracorporeal blood treatment anemia occurred in 38.9%, leukopenia in 36.8%, thrombocytopenia in 34.6%, hypolymphemia in 26.8%. Studies of immunoglobulin fractions in blood serum were able to establish a certain relationship between the classes of immunoglobulin A, G, M and their functions. The results showed that after treatment the values of main immunoglobulins in patients’ serum approximated to normal. Analysis of expression of activation markers CD25 + cells bearing receptors for IL-2 (IL-2Rα chain) and CD95 + lymphocytes that were mediated physiological apoptosis showed the tendency to increase, which apparently was due to activation of cellular immunity cytokines allocated by ultrasonic treatment. To carry out ECBT on the background of ultrasonic treatment improved the parameters of the immune system, which were expressed in stimulation of cellular immunity and correcting imbalances in humoral immunity. The key indicator of conducted treatment efficiency is the immediate result measured by the degree of tumor regression. After ECBT performance the complete regression was 10.3%, partial response - 55.5%, process stabilization - 34.5%, tumor advance progressing no observed. Morphological investigations of tumor determined therapeutic pathomorphism grade 2 in 15%, in 25% - grade 3 and therapeutic pathomorphism grade 4 in 60% of patients. One of the main criteria for the effect of conducted treatment is to study the remission terms in the postoperative period (up to 3 years or more). The remission terms up to 3 years with ECBT was 34.5%, 5-year survival was 54%. Carried out research suggests that a comprehensive study of immunological and clinical course of breast cancer allows the differentiated approach to the choice of methods for effective treatment.

Keywords: breast cancer, immunoglobulins, extracorporeal blood treatment, chemotherapy

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Authors: Eumsin Payan

Abstract:

The article desires the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take interest in the policies and give importance to India over other powerful countries in the World, including powerful countries in Asia, comprising of: People’s Republic of China (PRC), Russia, and India countries with the ability to drive the Asian continent, specifically, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). (Japan was incapable of stepping up to become the leader of ASEAN due to the fact that Japan has created “wounds” from military history with too many countries in Asia, including wounds from the Greater East Asia War, combining with economic problems Japan is currently facing and also several natural disasters, therefore Japan is not considered a good option of our era.) China appears to be an option that stands out, which could be seen through countless published articles in the general public. However, this article desires to propose India as an option to develop and drive the relationship between ASEAN countries in the future development of Computer Science Technology and allow India to be the leader in driving the Asian Economy in place of China and the United States. As for Russia, its location is distant and apart from South East Asia. Moreover, Russia does not give as much importance to ASEAN. In this light, the author perceives that India already has the “Look East” policy. Therefore, it would be simple for ASEAN to look back at India by simply starting cooperation through policies related to collaboration in the areas of computer science. In effect, this will continuously adjust and improve the relationship towards cooperation in the areas of economics, society, and culture. Referring to the above, the author suggests a word that could be used to call the relationship between India and ASEAN, INSEAN or IN-SEAN. Hereinafter, the author hopes that Thailand, in the position of one in the five founders of ASEAN, could become the leader or be the entity that pushes forward the ASEAN policies that will increase the importance of looking towards India. India is an emerging giant that has the ability to step up in Asia. With the proficient use of English, India is able to pass on the knowledge and drive the ASEAN’s Economic relationship better than China or Russia, as faced with higher language barriers. Moreover, India has cultivated democratic civilization from the colonization of the British Empire, similar to other nations of Southeast Asia, which are familiar with various heritage cultures that the British has brought them. The most important aspect in the author’s perspective is the fact that India is not aggressive and that they have courtesy. Through developing policies of the East through the “Look East” policy, it enabled India to establish a more smooth relationship with Asian countries comparing to China. China has imposed harsh policies towards democracy to the land above the South China Sea, which directly affect the ASEAN countries. From the above reasons, India, therefore, is an appropriate option in the establishment of a closer relationship with ASEAN, as the author has proposed relationship as INSEAN or IN-SEAN.

Keywords: IN-SEAN, INSEAN, look west policy, look east policy, ASEAN, India

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Authors: Shiau-Fang Chao, Yu-Chih Chen

Abstract:

Owing to physical limitations and restrained lifestyle, older long-term care (LTC) residents are more likely to be affected by their environment than their community-dwelling counterparts. They also participate fewer activities and experience worse mental health than healthy older adults. This study adopts the ICF model to determine the extent to which the clustered patterns of LTC environment and activity participation are associated with older residents’ mental health. Method: Data were collected from a stratified equal probability sample of 634 older residents in 155 LTC institutions in Taiwan. Latent profile analysis (LPA) and latent class analysis (LCA) were conducted to explore the profiles for environment and activity participation. Multilevel modeling was performed to elucidate the relationships among environment profiles, activity profiles, and mental health. Results: LPA identified three mutually exclusive environment profiles (Low-, Moderate-, and High-Support Environment) based on the physical, social, and attitudinal environmental domains, consolidated from 12 environmental measures. LCA constructed two distinct activity profiles (Low- and High-Activity Participation) across seven activity domains (outdoor, volunteer-led leisure, spiritual, household chores, interpersonal exchange, social, and sedentary activity) that were factored from 20 activities. Compared to the Low-Support Environment class, older adults in the Moderate- and High-Support Environment classes had better mental health. Older residents in the Moderate- and High-Support Environment classes were more likely to be in the “High Activity” class, which in turn, exhibited better mental health. Conclusion: This study advances the current knowledge through rigorous methods and study design. The study findings lead to several conclusions. First, this study supports the use of ICF framework to institutionalized older individuals with functional limitations and demonstrates that both measures of environment and activity participation can be refined from multiple indicators. Second, environmental measures that encompass the physical, social, and attitudinal domains would provide a more comprehensive assessment on the place where an older individual embeds. Third, simply counting activities in which an older individual participates or considering a certain type of activity may not capture his or her way of life. Practitioners should not only focus on group or leisure activities within the institutions; rather, more efforts should be made to consider residents’ preferences for everyday life and support their remaining ability by encouraging continuous participation in activities they still willing and capable to perform. Fourth, environment and activity participation are modifiable factors which have greater potential to strengthen older LTC residents’ mental health, and activity participation should be considered in the link between environment and mental health. A combination of enhanced physical, social, and attitudinal environments, and continual engagement in various activities may optimize older LTC residents’ mental health.

Keywords: activity, environment, mental health, older LTC residents

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